Haxton Way & Kwina Road Roundabout

Dangerous Combination

A high-speed road intersecting at a skewed angle spelled trouble.

Getting to the ferry on-time, just a little safer. Haxton Way is the primary north-south corridor on the Lummi Reservation and provides access to the Lummi Island Ferry. It is a high-speed two-lane roadway with a posted speed of 50 mph, which intersects with Kwina Road at an awkward, skewed angle. The corridor in general, and this intersection in particular, experienced a high number of collisions. This project changed the two-way stop-controlled intersection into a four-leg, single-lane roundabout.

The roundabout was designed in an oval shape to alleviate the severe collisions at this intersection by creating a low-speed environment. Vehicle speeds through the roundabout are similar regardless if the vehicle approaches from Haxton Way, a 50mph road, or from Kwina Road, a 35 mph road. Because a roundabout efficiently moves vehicles through an intersection without unnecessary stopping, the existing two-lane roadway section can be maintained through this intersection without causing unmanageable delays.

Awards

2013 BIA Northwest Safety Project Award

02roundabouts Reid Middleton designed on the Haxton Way corridor

0836tons of rocks, cobbles, and boulders used in landscape design

02languages featured on Welcome and Goodbye wallks (Lummi and English)

02story poles incorporated by the Lummi Nation after construction was complete